When to get a new cat?

I had to put my 9yr old to sleep yesterday. I have two other cats (1yr old and 3yr old), who were pretty attached to her. I am wondering if I should go get another kitten right away, like tomorrow (I have the day off, so I would have a 4 day weekend to help them get used to each other), or wait a month or so. I don't know what would be best for them. I know I will get another kitten, but I'm kind of at a loss as to when. I want to make it as easy as possible on the two of them (I know how heartbroken I am, so I don't know what it will do to them). Any ideas are very appreciated. Thanks so much!

KittyGirl

Regardless of when you decide to get a new kitty, it is always a good idea to keep the two cats seperated until the new kitty has been vet checked and cleared with good health, and until the two can acclimate to each other. This is done by keeping the new cat in his or her own room for at least a week, but sometimes longer, feeding them together but with a door closed between them so they can't get at each other, switching bedding around so they can get used to each other's scents, things like that. Good luck in what you decide to do, and if you just do a search one these boards for any posts regarding introducing new cats you are bound to find a lot of good ideas. Again, sorry for your loss but thank you for taking one more kitty off a rescuer's hands during such a busy time of year (kitty season)

Kittygirl-I don't really know what to tell you on this...hopefully someone will have a better answer for you. If it were me though, I would probably wait for a little while before I got a new cat so the other cats can have time to realize that their friend is gone and adjust to that. And remember to gradually introduce the new cat to your cats so there aren't any fuzz balls flying. Good luck!

I don't know what to tell you about when to get a new cat, but I just want to mention that we are very understanding of how difficult pet loss is. If you would like, please post in the Crossing the Bridge forum and share with us about your loss.

Get the new one whenever someone fuzzy grabs you. Sometimes I've gone months or years after losing one. Sometimes, its been just a few days. You'll know when its the right one.

I am so sorry to hear about your cat.
When you do get another kitty, let us know all about him/her.
One will grab your heart, but you will always have a special place their for the one you lost. My thoughts are with you.

I know how hard it is to lose a pet. I had one of my cats put to sleep after 11 years, one of the hardest days of my life. I knew I would get another cat, I waited until I woke up one day and decided to go out that day. It was about a month after the trip to the vet.

There is no set time when to get another pet after one passes on. You have to make sure you're ready and then you have to think about how your kitties will react to a new pal. Maybe a kitten would be too much for them, have you thought about adopting an adult cat who is in their age range?